My name is Carlo DeVito, and I am the author of East Coast Wineries: A Complete Guide from Maine to Virginia published by Rutgers University Press. This blog is dedicated to primarily east coast wines and wineries including Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. It will also feature products and information from other regions.

Monday, June 10, 2013

John Graziano is the Stan Musial of New York Wine – The Quiet Superstar

Millbrook Vineyards is one of the premiere wineries in New
York state, and the reigning queen of the Hudson Valley. It is owned by John
Dyson, who is also owner of an international portfolio of wineries, including
the highly acclaimed west coast vintner Williams-Selyam. Dyson has assembled an
exceptional team of people including winemaker John Graziano, who has been with
the winery from the very beginning (1984), no small feat for a winery that is
now closing in on thirty years. Currently, John is producing approximately
10,000 – 14,000 cases of wine annually from their own fruit, as well as fruit
from across New York and our California vineyards. Scott Koster is their
veteran salesman and Stacey Hudson is their bright, energetic marketing
manager, and David Bova is the General Manager that seems to be able to keep
everything together, and the ship moving forward. Since its inception Millbrook
has never faltered, an impressive run in any business.

Millbrooks' wine is cultivated on thirty of the vineyards'
130 acres. Currentvarietals include
Chardonnay (13 acres) Pinot Noir (5 acres), Cabernet Franc (7 acres), and Tocai
Friulano (5 acres). They planted a healthy amount of Riesling not too long ago.
At a recent event, I was lucky enough to taste a series of new vintages from
their portfolio and had a chance to chat with Graziano. If I may mix my
metaphors, Graziano is the Stan Musial of New York state wine.

Stan Musial was the enigmatic outfielder, slugger of the St.
Louis Cardinals, for most of the 20th century the most popular major
league baseball franchise between the east coast and the west coast. Musial,
also known as “Stan the Man” was a stupendous ballplayer who toiled in a
smaller market than New York or Los Angeles, and never received the
endorsements or notoriety that some of his contemporaries like DiMaggio,
Mantle, Mays, Snider, or Williams did. But nonetheless he was every bit as good
a ball player. In a lengthy career, Musial avoided most controversies of his
period, rarely made gaffs in the press (if any) and just played hard. He was a
veteran of WWII (losing several seasons to his service years), and was a first
ballot Hall of Famer.

Like Musial, Graziano comes to work every day with little
fuss. Plucked from obscurity from Pennsylvania winery Twin Brook, John has been
a gamer ever since. A gym rat. He
doesn’t do a lot of interviews or grand tastings. You won’t see him Facebooking
or Tweeting. He thinks his computer is a TV that doesn’t work if you judge him
by how long it takes him to answer an email if at all. He shuns these modern
day contrivances. He’s just as happy driving a tractor, a forklift, or pulling
samples from barrels. Conversations with John are quiet, short. He likes to
talk about grapes and clonal differences. He farms; he makes wine; he goes
home. He performs his prodigious feats in a smaller, less obvious market like
the Hudson Valley instead of the Finger Lakes or Long Island, where visibility
is a bigger part of the game. His career spans four decades. His numbers and
reviews speak for themselves, and stand up in any market. He is the quiet
superstar…and anomaly in our day in age. A throwback. A craftsman. An artist
whose sole occupation is to make sure his art is consistent from year to year.
He has become such a part of the fabric of this valley, and the New York
winemaking scene almost so much so to go un-noticed maybe. But make no mistake
about it – John Graziano is a Hall of Famer. First ballot.

2012 Tocai
Friulano Proprietor's Special Reserve

Millbrook is
famous for its Tocai Fruliano. An obscure grape in Italy, it was not an obvious
choice for a place like Millbrook. But it seems to like the Hudson Valley, and
John Graziano obviously has “the touch” with this grape. Citrus, kiwi and pear come
across on the nose along with hints of mandarin orange. Kiwi and pears also
come across on the palate, as well as citrusy ending. Nice bright acidity. A
great wine. Elegant. European in inspiration, classic in finish.

2012 Unoaked
Chardonnay

Take a bite
of big, green apples, melon, honey, and orange blossoms as promised. Lots of
tropicalnotes. Apple and pear come
across with lovely, fresh fruit. A beautiful dry white wine. Fabulous.

2011
Proprietor's Special Reserve Chardonnay

Millbrook
has been making wonderful Chardonnays for years. Their estate Chardonnay wine is
aged for 9 months in predominantly French oak. Notes of green apple,
honeysuckle and ripe Bosc pear. Hints of vanilla and spice. A lovely, real
acidity is balanced by a lovely dry, finish with a touch of citrus. Wonderful!

2010
Cabernet Franc Proprietor's Reserve

A
sophisticated, estate Cabernet Franc, with grass, cherry, dark berries, vanilla
and floral notes. Hints of spice and earth. Nice acidity keeps the fruit fresh
and beautiful, while subtle tannins give it structure and its classic backbone.
This is an lovely, lovely Cabernet Franc.

Pinot Noir has
long been one of the specialties of Millbrook Vineyards. Last March I tasted a
1993 Pinot Noir Special Reserve. The fruit was still vibrant, and the tannins
still solid. A special wine.

2010
Proprietor's Special Reserve Pinot Noir

In this 2010
estate Pinot Noir is a dark cherry wine with hints of raspberry, spice, fallen
leaves and white pepper. The tannins are beautiful and present without being
over powering. The finish lasts a long, long, long time. It is a beautiful,
complex, elegant wine. Wonderful.

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About Me

Carlo DeVito is a long time wine lover, and author of books and magazine articles. He is the author of Wineries of the East Coast. He has traveled to wine regions in California, Canada, up and down the east coast, France, Spain and Chile. He has been a published executive for more than 20 years. He shepherded the wine book program of Wine Spectator as well as worked with Kevin Zraly, Oz Clarke, Matt Kramer, Tom Stevenson, Evan Dawson, Greg Moore, Howard Goldberg, and many other wine writers. He has also published Salvatore Calabrese, Jim Meehan, Clay Risen, and Paul Knorr.
Mr. DeVito is the inventor of the mini-kit which has sold more than 100,000,000 copies world wide. He has also publisher such writers as Stephen Hawking, E. O Wilson, Philip Caputo, Gilbert King, James McPherson, John and Mary Gribbin, Thomas Hoving, David Margolick, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., John Edgar Wideman, Stanley Crouch, Dan Rather, Dee Brown, Susie Bright, and Eleanor Clift.
He is also the owner of Hudson-Chatham Winery, co-founder of the Hudson Berkshire Beverage Trail, and president of the Hudson Valley Wine Country.
https://carlodevito.wordpress.com/